Grrrr

[Phototropic]

So my band are playing in a 'battle of the bands' on Friday but I have to use the venue's house kit

How damn gay is this :(

We went up there for a jam / soundcheck yesterday and the kit is bad, the snare is absoloutely delicious sounding but the rest of it is ****ing crap

I only play with one rack tom on my kit, but this has 2 and I don't think I'm allowed to change the kit much

The bass drum is huge and it just feels like a mis-matched kit

I was really looking forward to playing as well :angry:

We're on last so hopefully I can change a fair bit of it around

And yep, I'm allowed to use my own cymbals, thank ****

Share stories of using somebody elses gear and how crap it is!

[VTDS_xx]

Get a tom clamp and stick the 2nd rack on a stand somewhere and keep it around for aux. use during your set. Muffle the bass drum a little more if it's too big for you.

[RushHourSoul]

Man get used to it. All of the shows I have played have been with someone elses kit and most of them are set up awfully.

The first gig I played at had an awful setup, the drummer wasn't very good but he was a really cool guy. He had an hydro on his snare batter (:amaze:) but luckily I brang my own snare. The toms where all mismatched and the cymbals where all hard to reach.. Another time this guy had a rack, but he set it up really spaced out, and i couldn't change anything cos it was all clamped to the rack, apart from the hats. I've only played once where i've actually liked the setup.

[Phototropic]

Get a tom clamp and stick the 2nd rack on a stand somewhere and keep it around for aux. use during your set. Muffle the bass drum a little more if it's too big for you.

Cool man I'll think about doing that, I'm gonna take my own cymbal stands I think

Man get used to it. All of the shows I have played have been with someone elses kit and most of them are set up awfully.

The first gig I played at had an awful setup, the drummer wasn't very good but he was a really cool guy. He had an hydro on his snare batter (:amaze:) but luckily I brang my own snare. The toms where all mismatched and the cymbals where all hard to reach.. Another time this guy had a rack, but he set it up really spaced out, and i couldn't change anything cos it was all clamped to the rack, apart from the hats. I've only played once where i've actually liked the setup.

Yeah I usually have the Ride where the 2nd rack tom would be, but on the kit its over the floor tom so its hell of a long way for me to bring my arm to hit the crash (next to my hi-hat)

Meh, it shouldn't be this way!!

I love my kit (as cheap and crappy as it is) I love the way its set up and everything about it :)

[RushHourSoul]

Yeah thats what I do too, I prefer 4 pieces for some reason. Just ask the person who owns it if its alright to move it around a bit just to get it a bit comfy. Once they say yes, do whatever you want. Basically make it as comfertable as possibly because its no fun playing a horrible setup :thumb:

[Phototropic]

Yeah I guess I should put my foot down :lol:

He was there yesterday, he looks a bit like Bill Bailey

And he seems like an aging rocker, had a Cannibal Corpse (or some similar metal band) T-shirt on ( :( sorry If I'm being stereotypical)

As long as I've got easy access to the Ride, Crash, Hats, Bass and Snare I'm fine, considering its a huge kit, its just so tatty :p

[FL3P]

If you cant use your own snare, cymbals, pedals and move one tom if need be then I wouldnt even bother playing. Thats the least any drummer should be able to do if there isnt enough time for a full change.

[alexi2]

"A good drummer must be able to play on a different setup at any time"

The wise words of gary Chester!

And it's true, we drummers do not have the opportunity of carrying our equipment with two hands like guitar players can.

[FL3P]

Depends on your level. At least the higher up you get the better chance that you will have some nice gear to use. I find that its not the size of the kit thats a problem anymore but the setup. I used to find most drummers had a comfortable setup but these days I find some have some really strange ones that are hard to adjust to. I suppose this has to do with more emphasis being put on looks.

[Drum Phil]

Ive nearly always used my own kit. No where ive ever played had a house kit (although one band did take my kit off stage in favour of a percussion plus with entire A4 sheets of paper on the heads)

Just suck up to the owner and hopefully they'll let you move it around

[Wizz]

that's a big problem when lots of people are using the same kit.

You can't adjust the kit to your needs , or as you say do stuff with the toms like changing toms angles , places etc...
I would advice to try to re-arrange the kit you have at home and practice on it a bit , so you will get used to the kit they have there.
And if it sounds crap , well don't worry if everyone uses the same kit then no-one hears it anyways

[CasB]

_Always_ bring your own stuff (hardware, cymbals and snare :))

[crolfe1]

To date I've only used one other drummer's kit on stage. The toms were positioned nicely, but the cymbals were horribly positioned IMO. So hard to reach. And the snare, although it was a 5x14 Pearl free-floater, the batter was so loose getting stick rebound was the equivalent of playing on sandbags. It sounded terrible. Unfortunately I was using his sticks too, chunky Vic 2B's. I normally use Promark oak 5A's. What a bad combo.

Like the others have said, bring your own gear. if you get to use it, great! If not, add/subtract pieces acordingly til you're comfortable.

[Tametomo]

Why cant you change things about? It takes like what a max of 2 mins just to get comfortable. I dont see why you should have to suffer just because someones being an arse. Your there to play for everyone else..if your not happy about the setup then make sure you or someone else does something about it mate :-) I have to do alot of performances on the yamaha stage custom at my college which is always a laugh 2 year old Coats Ambs :lol:....its like cmon guys its gonna cost you about 30 quid to get new heads theres 2 Steinway grand pianos over there and you cant afford new heads for a drum kit?! ahh well thats life innit :)

[Brokensticks]

I've never played a gig with somone elses kit, i've never even played a gig, but it would be unconfortable for me because i'm so used to my setup.

[TerranCmdr]

I played one gig where i used the school set. We didn't have a carpet so the bass drum ended up 3 feet away from me by the end of the song and the snare broke. Luckily there was another kit there but it was a lefty so that was quite interesting. Playing open handed wasn't too bad but I kept screwing up fills and missing the crash cymbal. How embarassing. Even after that my band managed an encore. :D